2124 M, Out Far-Brenkas
The sun was almost overhead, but the Nozatawu market was still as bustling as ever. The market was located in the Farlight district, a special place in the Outer region that was very strictly regulated. It was one of the economic centers for the people who happened to live nearby. Usually, hunters who were unaffiliated or had not yet secured a contract with the Guild would happily hold their loot there.
The profit offered would usually be lower than selling their goods to the Guild, but after all, they still had a life and money didn't come from the sky just like that. This place was mostly filled with traveling merchants selling a variety of goods, ranging from equipment, foodstuffs, and some medicines. The rest is filled with residents and hunters selling food and raw materials from monsters.
Among the hustle and bustle between the merchants and passers-by, Ezigio walked hurriedly while holding a black scroll in his right hand. He was still wearing the shabby robe he wore last night, the slightly tired expression on his face he tried to reduce with a little splash of cold water on his face. His hair was still slightly damp and a few drops of water were dripping from his face, he was also carrying a large camp bag on his back and lastly, 5 white broadswords were floating on his back neatly. With that kind of appearance, it was more than enough to make people keep their distance from him, of course, it was for their safety reasons and he thought so about it too.
He continued to walk down the street past many concrete buildings that had been rebuilt in a makeshift manner. They were built symmetrically to save costs, space, and time, and he thought it also added a bit of an aesthetic feel that was hard for him to express. Ezigio peeked at the contents of the black scroll now and then whenever he entered a quiet alley area, inside was nothing but information about the person he respected the most on this earth. It also had 3 black cards containing video documentaries made by Polvkrat himself, it was strange for him to accept the fact that that person could make such a good short documentary. He stayed up all night just to absorb all the information on the scroll into his head and it was all worth it. Knowledge is the deadliest weapon, he couldn't disagree with that idea.
Hazel Dyrafel, according to the information he provided, was a Hunter with a 'Tank' class and was the core player of his group. His name was recorded in the history books of mankind, he was always portrayed as both a shield and a time bomb for mankind. He fights by their side for his reasons and human life is never on his list of reasons, they don't even know how to stop him if he turns back.
"What kind of person is he, especially with his power?" He muttered, ignoring the people who were stealing glances at him.
Ezigio had also thought of all sorts of possibilities about him, but his mind always ended up being confused by them. Whenever some books or articles talked about that person, they always described him as nothing but the embodiment of disaster. Every word and paragraph he read made him wonder more and more to himself, why he was trying to risk his life just to seize that ridiculous pride that even he did not know if it existed.
'Is it worth it to fight him? Am I being selfish?' He was not sure about it and he just let his fate decide that.
Further information said that Hazel was a Hunter who was good at dealing with monsters but had little trouble dealing with humans or creatures with intelligence close to them at least. He got lost very easily on the way to look for them, he wasn't blind, it was just that she was quick to forget things.
Or, is it just him being too slow against them?
With all that, he was involved in several cases of genocide against certain ethnicities, it was all the doing of the elite people who lived inside their utopia right in the center of the city, Sun's Grace. The elites or as he preferred to call them, the elite rats were arguably very selfish and reckless.
But to shut them down, the 'Red Wall' event was a silent witness to their destruction. They liked to use Hazel's main family as bait to lure him out of his hole, and one day someone accidentally places their hand too deep.
Being orphaned at the age of 7, living with his older brother who was 16 at the time. He lived with him peacefully in a housing complex in the Sun's Grace area which was a bit shabby for the people around, he lived with him until his 8th birthday. On that day, his brother disappeared without leaving a single clue.
He was eventually adopted by his neighbors who were a pair of twin sisters who always helped him and his brother in times of trouble. At first, there was nothing strange about it, but over time he began to get various kinds of sexual harassment from the sisters. It was discovered that they had an illicit relationship and also a phobia of boys because of their past, in the end, Hazel was just a tool to vent all their hate.
Day after day he endured abuse and torment from them and it carved a permanent trauma in his soul. Being too naive, he doesn't like to blame others and prefers to blame himself, but everything changes slowly as he learns the truth bit by bit.
He grew into a skeptical and very selfish person, the only thing that was always on his mind was how he could stay alive to see tomorrow. Slowly but surely, he began to awaken the power that was latent within him and began to fight back against the humiliation he had received every day for 7 years.
The amount of anger inside him slowly takes action to awaken his power… the power to destroy everything he hates.
The twin sisters were a well-respected Hunter duo at the time, they were trusted henchmen of some important people in Sun's Grace, and fighting them was no easy feat. On his 15th birthday Hazel managed to kill the duo with all the hatred and rage that was in his heart, he even put their heads in front of the entrance of the apartment building as a trophy of his victory.
Several eyewitnesses saw him eating their corpses raw on the doorstep of his apartment. Anyone would be scared and disgusted if they saw an androgynous-looking boy with his intestines hanging out of place eating a headless corpse.
Ezigio always felt like he was going to vomit whenever he imagined that image, he even had nightmares about it when he fell asleep for a while.
"Really… what a beast."
Ezigio eventually decided to skip the parts he thought were too brutal and just focus on the important parts. That incident was the beginning of Hazel's career as a hunter, as on that very day he walked straight towards the guild to decide his fate. He managed to become a hunter in one try because of one important thing, he was extremely difficult to kill. The first time he came to the guild at that time he was in an unreasonable state and a very bad condition, the wound on his abdomen hadn't even closed so people could still peek inside and several kitchen knives were stuck in his chest. Fortunately for him, the guild was located in the Hope Light region which was only 27 km away so he wouldn't cause too much commotion... he supposed.
Hazel started his career well, he was also the most highlighted hunter at that time and somehow those elite rats managed to put their snouts on him. They capitalized on his obsession with the concept of "true strength", he was completely infatuated with the idea and would often shout out crazy things like, "WEAKNESS IS A SIN!!!", or something like that. He complies with all their requests, mostly slaughtering bandits or looting bunkers.
Until one day, one of the prominent people there thought it would be funny to execute one of his extended family members. While the man tried to hide all the evidence, Hazel's nose quickly sniffed out the incident. He slaughtered everyone who had a connection to the person who killed one of his family members, he then used the blood of all the people he crushed to paint the dividing wall between the territories of Sun's Grace and Hope Light.
Now all the higher-ups in Sun's Grace have to live in a shadow of terror, they don't know for sure when Hazel will come back and reap their heads. In the past they always thought that Hazel was just a loyal dog and would obey everything they said, he did that, it's just that there are limits to everything. Rumor has it that after the incident Hazel hid his remaining family, he did nothing more because he was very worried about them.
But it seems he failed.
Because what Ezigio has inside his bag will show the answer.
But the main reason why Ezigio was so confused was that the information in the card was the real truth. He was speechless the first time he heard it.
"I should be able to absorb some more information... but it seems I've arrived." Ezigio stopped reading the scroll and fixed his gaze on the building in front of him.
He had walked so far just to get here, he had previously lived tens of thousands of kilometers away from this place. He managed to get to this city quickly because of the teleportation device that Polvkrat had placed outside the city. Although there were no rules regarding teleportation-type transportation devices, Polvkrat insisted on placing them outside the city for security reasons. Don't forget that with all kinds of very strict security protocols, he spent a lot of money to get through the entrance gates.
In front of him at the moment was a restaurant that could be considered very old, he could see the signboard of the restaurant that read "Budi's Crib" was already dusty. It was a little rude to call this place rundown, he could feel the warm air coming from inside, plus the smell of cooking made him a little hungry. In addition to the smell of cooking, Ezigio smelled a bit of the distinctive aroma of fermented alcoholic beverages that could be considered rather strong.
He stepped feet towards the door, this restaurant used a very sturdy iron door and it was also a bit stuck. After struggling with the door for a while, Ezigio was finally able to open the door. Inside, the interior was very elegant and luxurious to him, as there were no windows, and a yellow crystal chandelier was installed on the ceiling for lighting. The dining tables were neatly arranged, the table was just a small round table covered with a pure white cloth. At the end of the square-shaped room was a counter complete with a bartender. Almost the entire room was made of dark wood, it gave him a warm and peaceful feeling for some reason.
"Is this a restaurant? It's more appropriate to call it a bar." Ezigio felt a little uneasy because he couldn't find anyone in this room, other than him and the bartender of course.
He walked through the tables that seemed to be arranged in a zig-zag pattern, this restaurant had no furniture or wall hangings and that raised a few questions in his head. One of the new things he noticed was that there were no chairs anywhere, there was only one in front of the counter. He walked slowly, trying not to make any noise so as not to disturb the bartender. Ezigio finally sat down on the white wooden stool, he tidied up his luggage and took out a black pouch from under his robe.
"What do you want, kid? We're not open yet, it's still too early." said the man wearing a white coat, who also wore a kind of white mask decorated with an unknown emblem. The mask hid all of his faces, which made Ezigio a little worried.
"I'm here to deliver the goods, do you know where the person named Hazel Dyrafel is?" Ezigio placed the black bag on the table, he watched the man's every move carefully.
The man ignored his questions completely and just continued to wipe and polish each glass. Honestly, Ezigio felt very awkward about it because he rarely communicated with others. When he went to trade, Polvkrat was the one who handled all the bargaining and he could only watch. He wouldn't be able to understand how to trade, even Polvkrat himself told him the same thing.
"You have no talent in this kind of thing, fuck off"
'Well… what can I do about it?' he thought while waiting for the answers.
After waiting for a few minutes, Ezigio couldn't hold his patience anymore and tried to question the man once more.
"Uh, excuse me... can I-"
"Sure... he's standing behind you right now," he replied in a flat tone without any expression.
"What? Behind me?!!" Ezigio gasped and slowly turned his head back in alarm.
He hadn't noticed it before but now he felt a chill on his neck, his body started to feel very heavy and he started to sweat everywhere. Ezigio was not sure if he would survive if he opened his eyes at this moment, he was too cowardly for this moment. He wondered where all that determination he had was, he remained in that position until finally a hoarse and heavy voice called out to him.
"Why are you afraid?"
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Ezigio opened his eyes out of curiosity, in front of him stood a tan-skinned 230 cm tall man wearing only long military pants. He had brown hair that extended to his shoulders, it was not neatly styled and blocked his eyes. He had a red tattoo on his chest and he had permanent scars everywhere. At a glance, Ezigio could see his red eyes staring at him intently, his black sclera making his red eyes seem to shine. His face was very masculine and arguably every man's dream, this guy should be liked by many women.
"Budi, please take one more stool for me and 2 steaks, medium rare. Oh, I almost forgot one thing, cancel my haircut appointment today." He said, ignoring him and going to have a little chat with the bartender.
"The 2 steaks will be here soon and it looks like you have a package," he replied in a very cold monotone, he then left the two of them alone.
"I know, so kid. What do you have for me?"
"U-uh, I have the stuff you ordered from Polvkrat," he replied shakily, he couldn't even look at him directly.
"Polvkrat? I haven't heard his name in a long time. It's probably been three months since the last time I saw him, so where is he now?" Hazel picked up the pouch that Ezigio had placed on the table and opened it.
"H-he's gone... Polvkrat will never come back again, ever," he said in a gloomy tone, Hazel who was watching the boy also became a little confused.
"Hmmm... is that so?" he didn't know what happened to that person, all his attention was on the black pouch. The relationship between him and that person was just that of a merchant and a customer, he didn't care about him.
It took a while for him to carefully open the pouch, it was tied very well, and opening it took a little time. The moment he opened it, a wide grin was plastered on his face. Ezigio who saw that shrank slightly and shifted his chair back.
"Your existence... completes me." Hazel took out what appeared to be a dark red gauntlet. It had a very gripping appearance thanks to its texture but looked very rough, it also had a design that made it look like it was splitting apart. He inserted his right hand carefully, the air becoming a little heavy around it. When all his hands were in place, the gauntlet instantly glowed and locked itself.
Ezigio was a little surprised when he saw Hazel who flinched slightly, he could feel the chill on her neck getting worse. The gauntlet was giving off a blood-red glow from between, his entire arm now had some sort of glow line that seemed to resonate with the gauntlet. He squeezed his hand and the red glow began to fade and disappear.
Ezigio began to berate Polvkrat and himself silently, having just bought this man one of his weapons. He didn't know how important the gauntlet was to Hazel, so he still lost a few points here and there. But judging by how Hazel reacted when wearing that thing, the gauntlet should have had a great influence on him. Without the right weapons or tools, someone like him could not unleash their full fighting potential.
'I should have checked the contents of that pouch last night. Never thought I'd bring this guy a weapon of his own, Ezigio thought to himself. He had only thought that the pouch contained a few pieces of junk, it did make a rather noisy iron sound whenever he shook it.
"So, how much does it cost?"
"T-the cost?... uh, wait a minute!"
"Just relax, there's no need to rush."
Ezigio reached into his bag and retrieved a thick green book, he flipped through the pages and finally stopped on one page. He then searched the price list and found the weapon maintenance section.
"It costs 2000 s-shard points!" he shouted clumsily, earning him a confused look from the person in front of him.
Hazel just nodded and threw a small pouch which Ezigio guessed was the fee. He managed to catch it and immediately looked at the contents, he tried to display an impression of professionalism as best he could. He frowned slightly, the amount of money in this bag was too much. This bag contained at least 15 purple-colored Shards, each of them worth about 1000 points and that was quite a large amount.
"Just take the change." Hazel waved his hand as he saw the boy's confused face.
Ezigio didn't say any more words and just put the bag into his bag. He then took a deep breath, he felt something was off here. The person he was so afraid of before with all the cells inside him, somehow getting so... docile?
All the fears he experienced earlier were unfounded. He was too lost in his past experiences, reading the black scroll didn't help him overcome his nervousness either. He didn't realize that the current Hazel had such a weak aura. Because all he knew was that this person should spread terror wherever he was. Whether it was only when he was in fighting mode or something like that he just became like that, after all, he had never been close to or had any kind of relationship with him. It was just that there was one thing that was missing from him now, his motivation was gone.
"2 Greek Cow Steaks, medium rare."
"Oh, it's here"
Ezigio's ears perked up slightly as he heard the name of the dish. It was the name of a lizard monster that had a cow-like appearance that was extremely difficult to find, the Greek Cow. They were very hard to find because whenever they came out of a crevice, other monsters would immediately hunt them down as they were very weak. You could say that their meat is very expensive because of this.
But really, they're just big cows with green lizard heads... nothing special about that.
Hazel sat in the seat next to him on his right happily, he looked like a child who was invited to eat by their parents at a restaurant. Hazel then turned to him once again, he was signaling Ezigio to sit near him and it was a challenge for him.
He shifted his seat again to the previous place, it would be very rude of him if he refused the offer.
"There is nothing better than a piece of steak in this dark world. Come on, enjoy it while it's warm."
"Y-yeah, thank you very much, sir."
Ezigio could only smile awkwardly, even if it was very forced. Inside his head at the moment only contained various questions. He made all sorts of theses and research regarding the main reason he came here, to regain his pride and get something he lost.
'Did I lose something... because of this guy?' Ezigio was lost in thought while Hazel was happily enjoying his food. He peeked at the boy next to him now and then, he didn't even know his name yet but somehow he felt a heat in the back of his head.
"Hey kid, what's your name?"
"Uh, the n-my name is Ezigio!"
"Ezigio, nice name. Do you have Italian blood?"
"No-no, I don't think I have Italian blood. I know my name is Ezigio because of this tattoo."
Ezigio showed the pale white part of his nape, where his name was written in red. Hazel nodded his head and went back to enjoying his meal.
Ezigio did the same, it wasn't his first time eating Greek Cow meat so he wasn't too surprised by the taste. The moment he put the piece of steak into his mouth, it crumbled easily and released fat and juices that were full of the distinctive flavor of melting beef. He didn't even have to chew it because the meat was so soft, which was probably why the bartender didn't give him a knife. It was a very simple dish but it was enough to make him remember the good old days.
"Mr. Hazel!" Ezigio got up and slammed the counter, slightly startling Hazel who was busy with her food.
"Yes?"
"I ask you, what is the main reason why you are still alive today?"
****
Hazel knows something is not alright when the kid asked it. He accidentally stepped on a landmine, it sucks for him.
"...."
"Why, too afraid to answer?"
"It has nothing to do with you boy."
"Oh, of course, there is... I guess the only way is this."
'What the hell is wrong with this kid?' he thought while continuing his food.
While Hazel was confused by Ezigio's sudden change in demeanor, he reached into his bag and retrieved a very shabby pouch. There was a red liquid dripping from the pouch, the size, and shape of which also triggered a flash in Hazel's eyes.
'It can't be?!!'
"Yes, you're right. This is one of the reasons why you're still fucking alive today."
The bag's ties were unceremoniously opened to reveal its contents.
"!!!"
Hazel's eyes shook violently as he stared at the object in front of him, it was the head of one of his family members. He tried to grab it with trembling hands, his face currently showing a very complicated expression.
'Desma, what have they done to you my boy… what a cruel fate have you met.' He's trying his best to hide his emotional outbursts, thankfully he's still high.
"You feel as if those bastards have already removed their hands from your precious family. You even decided to go back to work with them again!"
"You... how?"
'What kind of shit you're talking about kid, where the fuck did you find this.'
"I found her near the back of town yesterday. No monster can decapitate a person like that, it's a very likely cut."
'Understandable.'
"This can't be... this can't be, they did this?" Hazel held the head tightly, his face filled with so many fake emotions. He hopes that if he does this, that kid will stop doing this nonsense.
"They killed my mother who served them for decades. What makes you think that little agreement of yours won't just be broken?" Ezigio sat on the stool and looked disgustedly at Hazel.
'What kind of things have I done to deserve this? Why are you doing this, kid?' He was able to think calmly and try to follow where this conversation went.
"How do you know... all this, who are you?" Hazel had already lost the light in his eyes, he just looked down while hugging that head. Even if he was able to hide his emotion, the sadness he felt started to get out of control.
'Should I feel angry about this? Maybe I'm gonna feel it when the drug effect wears out.' He waited in patients as he kept listening to the kid.
"Me? Not someone important, just a man trying to achieve his ridiculous dreams. Haunted by a past filled with the shame that comes from a loser like you."
"You... that boy?"
"Finally, you remember him. A child you mercilessly destroyed for the sake of gaining sheer power... me."
"What do you want out of all this boy!" Hazel was starting to lose his temper, he placed his late family's head on the table and looked at Ezigio with anger.
The drug started to wear off.
"Ah, those eyes... the same eyes as before. It's just that these are a little dimmer, the ones that used to have a lot of anger and gluttony that made you shiver." Ezigio shook his head in great disappointment. He knew he was behaving impudently at the moment, but the reaction of the person in front of him at the moment made him even more disappointed.
'This motherfucker must have a lot of mental issues.' At this rate, Hazel just surrendered as he stuck with this conversation.
"I spent so many years practicing for the moment when I would cut off your head. I did it to gain my nonexistent pride from you, but after reading all that truth... it feels so disgusting."
"You don't understand anything... I've already lost too much."
'I should not drink that thing again.'
Every word that came out of Hazel's mouth, somehow made him even more devastated. Ezigio wasn't sure how badly damaged this man was mentally, but...
"Of course, of course... you know you've lost too much. Guess what, it's because you're weak!" Ezigio snapped at Hazel so hard, he pushed him down onto the cold floor with ease.
At this stage, Hazel had lost many clues and directions in his head. He just wanted to rest, but life seemed to be a real jerk. He began to recall fragments of memories in his mind, and dark images from his past began to scatter before his eyes.
'Oh God, here we go again….'
"I think you're starting to remember everything, swallow all those dark memories until you wake up."
"What are you doing this for?" Hazel, who was still sitting on the floor, asked with all his heart. He had no idea that a boy like him would try to roast him so hard. Ezigio calmed down his emotions a little, the emotional outburst earlier made his heart beat very fast.
"To bring you to your senses, that way I can fight you with honor. You think this is a stupid thing, don't you? You're right, it is a very stupid thing too. I was excited to do it before, but this scroll changes everything." Ezigio threw the black scroll in front of Hazel.
"I'm shaken up, you know? The person you've been bullying all this time turned out to be just a barking dog. Also, don't forget what you did yesterday, rioting and destroying the city wall while drunk. It's an amazingly fast development, isn't it? It's as if fate had run out of ideas and sped things up."
"...."
"Someday, someone stronger than you will come. He wipes out everyone you care about and takes everything away from you. But you think I'm the strongest person on the planet, how? It's easy, they just need to hold you back and create a weapon powerful enough to kill you."
Ezigio glimpsed the slight look of surprise on Hazel's face. He had read everything, from the contract, the sacrifices, the rules, and all the things he did with the elite rat. It was all done for the sake of a false peace, he did not expect how downcast this person was. He felt a little upset as well as sad, he knew Hazel just wanted his family to be safe but at the same time, he was the source of the problem.
'Even if that peace is momentary, at least they can enjoy it….'
After all, their positions had been reversed.
"So... you know everything already?"
Ezigio did not answer him, he just smiled so contentedly. But that smile was soon replaced with an unpleasant expression, it was insulting and full of arrogance.
"Not really, but I know... the one who can defeat you, HAS BEEN BORN!"
"This diphsit have a serious problem, autism?" Said Hazel without any hesitation, little did he know that the kid's behavior is going so much worse.
He's the one to blame….